Texas Border Business
ROSENBERG, Texas – The TSTC Foundation recently received a $28,000 donation from Saber Power Field Services LLC, a NETA Accredited Company serving the electric utility, petrochemical, municipal, industrial/commercial, renewable, and oil and gas industries, on behalf of Texas State Technical College’s Electrical Power and Controls (EPC) program.
Of the donation, $18,000 is an in-kind gift of equipment for the EPC program on TSTC’s Waco campus. The remaining $10,000 will be applied to scholarships at four TSTC campuses that offer EPC training, including Fort Bend County, Harlingen, Sweetwater and Waco.
“We are really excited to partner with Saber statewide,” said Pete Rowe, The TSTC Foundation’s vice president of external relations and the field development officer for the Waco campus. “We value our long-standing partnership with Saber Power and look forward to growing it in the future.”
Saber Power, founded in 2010 and headquartered in Rosharon, Texas, has eight offices and serves clients in Houston, the Gulf Coast and beyond.
“We are pleased to offer Texas State Technical College with financial support and equipment to assist in developing the next generation of field service technicians,” said Saber Power Field Services executive vice president Rick Thompson. “We value and appreciate TSTC providing leading technical vocational education, for which there is a great demand in the industry. We look for opportunities to hire TSTC graduates, as we know they are high-caliber candidates.”
Saber recruits TSTC students from all Texas campuses and currently has many alumni at the company, including a number in senior leadership.
“We have an ambitious growth plan,” said Brad Bodine, Saber Power Field Services director of operations and TSTC graduate. “We prioritize hiring TSTC’s EPC graduates, as their quality program enables us to recruit knowledgeable candidates to support our growth.”
Paul Beaver, Saber Power Field Services director of project development and training and TSTC graduate, hopes the company’s gift to his alma mater will boost opportunities for prospective students interested in TSTC’s EPC program.
Alicia Cruz, a placement coordinator with TSTC’s Career Services department explains, “For our students, company name recognition is everything. If they’ve seen support and recruiting since their first semester, they understand the value of working for that company upon graduation.”
Companies in technical industries that partner closely with TSTC stand to benefit on multiple levels, said Jose Muniz, a director in TSTC’s Career Services department.
“Once companies see the skill set of our graduates, they come back to recruit more,” he said, referencing TSTC’s EPC curriculum with subjects like motor controls and AC and DC circuits.
Saber Power’s Thompson drew parallels between the mission of his company and that of TSTC during the gift presentation at the college’s Fort Bend County campus.
“Saber is a leader in providing our customers safety, quality, performance and customer satisfaction, while supporting our employees with a family-oriented business culture, focused on training and development, customer service and growth,” Thompson said. “TSTC alumni have proven that their skill set is aligned with what we are looking for and help us deliver reliable support and service to our customers.”
